A New Jersey mother-of-three was identified as the victim of a murder-suicide that preceded a fiery house explosion last weekend.
Washington Township police officers responded to the scene just after 2 a.m. on Sunday and found the house “fully engulfed in flames and appeared to have been heavily damaged by an apparent explosion.”
First responders found two bodies after extinguishing the flames: Michelle Whiting was found shot to death in a bedroom, and her ex-boyfriend, Daniel Steele, was located in the living room with a handgun next to his body.
Investigators confirmed “the presence of an accelerant” and the tampering with the gas line inside the house, which caused the blast and fire.
A friend of Whiting described her as a “happy-go-lucky” mother who “always tried to look at the positive.”
“Was always there for everybody, no matter what anybody needed. Her kids were her world.”
